(1) The registers required to be kept and maintained by a company under section 88
163. Place of keeping, and inspection of registers and returns.—
(1) The register of members commencing from the date of the registration of the company, the index of members, the register and index of debenture holders, and copies of all annual returns prepared under
Under the Bill, a company is required to keep Register of members at the registered office of the company. Other than this a company may also keep
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and copies of the annual return filed under section 92 shall be kept at the registered office of the company:
Provided that such registers or copies of return may also be kept at any other place in India in which more than one-tenth of the total number of members entered in the register of members reside, if approved by a special resolution passed at a general meeting of the company and the Registrar has been given a copy of the proposed special resolution in advance:
Provided further that the period for which the registers, returns and records are required to be kept shall be such as may be prescribed.
(2) The registers and their indices, except when they are closed under the provisions of this Act, and the copies of all the returns shall be open for inspection by any member, debenture-holder, other security holder or beneficial owner, during business hours without payment of any fees and by any other person on payment of such fees as may be prescribed.
(3) Any such member, debenture-holder, other security holder or beneficial owner or
sections 159 and 160, together with the copies of certificates and documents required to be annexed thereto under sections 160 and 161, shall be kept at the registered office of the company:
Provided that such registers, indexes, returns and copies of certificates and documents or any or more of them may, instead of being kept at the registered office of the company, be kept at any other place within the city, town or village in which the registered office is situate, if—
(i) such other place has been approved for this purpose by a special resolution passed by the company in general meeting, and
(iii) the Registrar has been given in advance a copy of the proposed special resolution.
(1A) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub- section (1) the Central Government may make rules for the preservation and for the disposal whether by destruction or otherwise, of the registers, indexes, returns and copies of certificates and other documents referred to in sub-section (1).
(2) The registers, indexes, returns, and copies of certificates and other documents referred to in sub- section (1) shall, except when the register of members or debenture holders is closed under the provisions of this Act, be open during business hours (subject to such reasonable restrictions, as the company may impose, so that not less than two hours in each day are allowed for inspection) to the inspection—
(a) of any member or debenture holder, without fee; and
(b) of any other person, on payment of such sum as may be prescribed for each inspection. (3) Any such member, debenture holder or other person may—
and maintain its register of members at a place in which more than one- tenth of the total number of members entered in the register of members reside after approval in a general
meeting by special
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COMMENTS
any other person may—
(a) take extracts from any register, or index or return without payment of any fee; or
(b) require a copy of any such register or entries therein or return on payment of such fees as may be prescribed.
(4) If any inspection or the making of any extract or copy required under this section is refused, the company and every officer of the company who is in default shall be liable, for each such default, to a penalty of one thousand rupees for every day subject to a maximum of one lakh rupees during which the refusal or default continues.
(5) The Central Government may also, by order, direct an immediate inspection of the document, or direct that the extract required shall forthwith be allowed to be taken by the person requiring it.
(a) make extracts from any register, index, or copy
referred to in sub-section (1) without fee or additional fee, as the case may be, or
(b) require a copy of any such register, index, or
copy or of any part thereof, on payment of such sum as may be prescribed for every one hundred words or fractional part thereof required to be copied.
(1) The company shall cause any copy required by any person under clause (b) of sub-section (3) to be sent to that person within a period of ten days, exclusive of non-working days, commencing on the day next after the day on which the requirement is received by the company.
(2) If any inspection, or the making of any extract required under this section, is refused, or if any copy required under this section is not sent within the period specified in sub-section (4), the company, and every officer of the company who is in default, shall be punishable, in respect of each offence, with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees for every day during which the refusal or default continues. (6) The Tribunal may also, by order, compel an immediate inspection of the document, or direct that the extract required shall forthwith be allowed to be taken by the person requiring it, or that the copy required shall forthwith be sent to the person requiring it, as the case may be.
Under the Bill in addition to
member, debenture-
holder, other security holders have also been empowered to inspect, take extract from the register of members.
The new law empowers Central Government to direct inspection of the document.
Penal provisions have been made stringent.